Revelation 22:18-19, … For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book, of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Blog note: Christian Persecution. Jesus indicated that many would hate and persecute Christians because of His name. This has always been the case and is increasing in intensity and frequency.

Psalm 25:19. Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.

Psalm 38:19. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

Psalm 41:7. All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.

Psalm 69:4. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.

Psalm 69:14. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Matthew 10:22. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Mark 13:13. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Luke 6:22. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

Luke 14:26. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 19:14. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

Luke 21:17. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.

John 7:7. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

John 15:18. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

It’s no secret that living in China as a Christian is extremely difficult, as the government openly persecutes Christians. Part of the reason the Chinese government has so much disdain for Christianity is that it is not compatible with socialism, the Christian Post reported.

In order to further combat the growing “threat” of Christianity, the Chinese government has announced a five-year plan to regulate Christianity in China. Part of this plan includes rewriting the Bible, as well as forcing church congregants to sing specific, communist-based, hymns in their church services.

Last week, during a House hearing, Rev. Bob Fu, the founder of persecution watchdog group China Aid, testified in front of Congress about the current persecution many Chinese Christians are facing at the hands of China’s socialist government. He warned about the plan to “Sincize” Christianity in China, essentially the government’s attempt to warp the faith into their own twisted version.

During his meeting with the House Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, Fu emphasized the dangerous crackdowns affecting various religions in China.

“Religious freedom in China has really reached to the worst level that has not been seen since the beginning of the Cultural Revolution by Chairman Mao [Zedong] in the 1960s,” Fu said, according to the Christian Post. The pastor warned committee members of what might happen if the persecution is not stopped, noting that China is working to force all religions to “adapt to a socialist society.” According to the Christian Post, Fu provided a written testimony in which he emphasized the new regulations that churches would see in the impending future.

The religious sites must “accept the guidance, supervision, and inspection of relevant departments of the local people’s government regarding the management of personnel, finances, assets, accounting, security, fire protection, protection of relics, health and disease prevention and so forth,” Fu wrote.

Pastors in China Put Lives on the Line for Christ in Face of Communist Crackdown The Chinese government created a five-year plan for “promoting the Sinicization of Christianity,” which includes “cultivating and implementing the socialist core values.” The plan will be supervised by the national religious affairs bureau and “every province, autonomous region and municipality’s TSPM, and CCC seminaries and churches will cooperate with it.”

A key part of the plan involves rewriting the Bible, Fu noted.

“The plan made it clear that ‘Sinicization of Christianity’ means to change ‘Christianity in China’ into ‘Chinese Christianity,’” he said. “[The plan] emphasized that ‘the heart and soul of Christianity’s Sinicization is to Sincize the Christian theology,’ and even proposing to ‘re-translate the Bible or re-write biblical commentaries.’”

“There are outlines that the new Bible should not look westernized and [should look] Chinese and reflect Chinese ethics of Confucianism and socialism,” Fu told the Christian Post after the hearing. “The Old Testament will be messed up. The New Testament will have new commentaries to interpret it.” As the Chinese government works to rewrite the Bible, they are also actively attempting to ban the internet from the Chinese public.

As previously reported by Faithwire:

The communist country’s State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) has proposed new regulations that would make conducting online church services illegal, according to AsiaNews, which first broke the story. In order to establish a religious website, the outlet reported, those involved would have to receive express permission from the Chinese government and face judgment over whether they and their religious beliefs are “morally healthy and politically reliable.”

The Chinese government is making every effort possible to completely detach their citizens from the rest of society, attempting to regulate every single piece of information they receive.

Fu noted that the government’s latest ploy to rewrite the Bible also includes “incorporating the Chinese elements into church worship services, hymns and songs, clergy attire, and the architectural style of church buildings.”

China Moves to Ban Internet Church Activities

“This includes ‘editing and publishing worship songs with Chinese characteristics and promoting the Sinicization of worship music,’ using uniquely Chinese art forms, such as Chinese painting, calligraphy, inscription, and paper-cutting to express the Christian faith,’” Fu said. “[It’s also] encouraging churches to blend in style with Chinese architecture to local architectural style.”

The Chinese government is actively trying to erase any true forms of Christianity, using all means of force to do so. Churches are being knocked down and raided, Bibles were taken away and Christian imagery removed.

As previously reported by Faithwire:

A massive crackdown on religious freedom has for years been underway in China, where churches are being demolished, Bibles confiscated and posters of Jesus replaced with imagery of President Xi Jinping.

In China, the communist government sees the spread of the Christian faith as a Western threat to their culture and way of life. In 2016, [President Xi Jinping] said, “We must resolutely guard against overseas infiltrations via religious means.”

Fu revealed that government officials have taken to approaching Christian citizens, telling them to renounce their faith outright.

“For the first time since the cultural revolution, the communist party is now implementing a policy to mandate the Chinese faithful citizens to sign a form to renounce their faith,” he said. “We have produced documentation showing [government officials] going door-to-door to force believers to sign a prepared form claiming that these believers were misled by evangelists into believing Christianity. Now, after a few weeks of self-examination and political studies, they have realized they made a mistake. This has not happened in the past.”

Pray for Chinese Christian leaders and citizens as they struggle to keep their faith amid such intense persecution.